Shelves are used frequently in the home and office for supporting items such as: books, clocks, dishes, photographs, ornaments, stereos, televisions and the like thereon. Shelves are often mounted by supporting them at each end between a pair of spaced apart supporting walls facing toward each other using shelf clips removably attached to the support walls. It is often desirable that the shelf be movable to different positions, rather than be permanently fixed in a single position between the support walls.
There are many shelf clips for permitting a shelf to be mounted between two facing support walls and then moved to a different position with relative ease. Presently available shelf clips typically have a horizontally extending support member and a single mounting post extending rearward for positioning in one of a series of holes in the support wall. Numerous holes are formed extending vertically along the support walls into which the shelf clip may be placed to permit the shelf to be held at a variety of different elevational positions. The shelf is placed on the horizontal support members of the shelf clips and held in position by its own weight, combined with the weight of any items that may be placed thereon.
One disadvantage of mounting a shelf using presently available shelf clips is that when a book or other object is slid forwardly and off of the shelf, the shelf may slide along with the item. The shelf may slide so far that it pulls clear of one or more of the shelf clips and becomes unbalanced, causing the shelf and the items thereon to fall.
A further disadvantage of mounting a shelf with such a shelf clip is that the clip moves back and forth or up and down a short distance each time an item is placed on or removed from the shelf. This causes the hole into which the mounting post extends for retaining the shelf clip to be enlarged over time. This can also result from the placement of excessive weight on the shelf even if it simply sits stationary on the shelf. As the hole becomes larger, the movement of the shelf clip increases in the hole. The hole may become so enlarged or misshaped that it will no longer retain the shelf clip, causing the shelf and the items thereon to fall. When this occurs, the shelf must be mounted at a different elevational position since the hole has been enlarged or misshapen to a degree that it will no longer reliably retain the shelf clip.